Cross country: Cornwall's Cuffe wins Northeast Regional race

On the morning Aisling Cuffe hoped to break a record, she woke Saturday to weather conditions she thought might keep that from happening.

KEVIN WITT

On the morning Aisling Cuffe hoped to break a record, she woke Saturday to weather conditions she thought might keep that from happening.

The temperature was right around 50 degrees, ideal for a cross country runner in late November. The wind gusts to 30 mph and higher, were not.

Cuffe, a Cornwall junior, was at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park on Long Island. The race was the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship Northeast Regional race.

The top 10 finishers qualify for the national race, but that was never in doubt for Cuffe.

She completed the 3.1-mile race in the winning time of 17:45.9, shattering the 28-year course record of 18:07.5, set by Christine Curtain in 1981.

Sara Sargent, a freshman from Pennsylvania, led the race for the first half-mile. Cuffe said she passed her about one-quarter mile later. And by the time Cuffe passed the one-mile mark?

"I couldn't hear anybody behind me," Cuffe said.

This was Cuffe's third time running the course, but never with this wind. Cornwall coach Dave Feuer jogged the course early Saturday, then spoke with Cuffe and the two formulated a strategy.

"The wind was at your back for the first half mile, so we wanted her to go out a little harder than usual," Feuer said. "The wind was right in her face at the end."

But by that time, it didn't matter. Cuffe beat second-place finisher Abbey Leonardi by 46 seconds.

"The last 200 meters was the toughest part of the race, except for the hill," Cuffe said. "I'm happy with how I ran."

Cuffe already proved she was the best high school girl in New York, when she won the Federation meet last weekend. She finished third in the Northeast Regional last year, when it was held in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

So barring a fall, she expected to at least qualify on Saturday.

"I felt like I went out a little too fast," Cuffe said. "But I was confident that 10 people weren't going to pass me."

Next up is the National Championship race, which will be held Dec. 12 in San Diego. There, she will compete in a 40-runner field against the top-10 finishers from three other regional qualifiers.

The two-week break between races will help. Beginning with the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association championships, Cuffe has raced on five consecutive weekends.

"She was a little tired last week at the Federation (race)," Feuer said. "She had two hard workouts prior, but you have to give up something. Now she can rest up."

Cuffe finished 12th in San Diego last year.

"I'd like to at least place higher than that. That would be my first goal," Cuffe said. "But I would like to try and run fast to win. There will be more people around me because of the competition, so there will be more strategy involved."